Like father, like son?
Tom Hanks paid his dues toiling in such lowbrow fare as Bachelor Party, The Man With One Red Shoe and Volunteers before morphing into the James Stewart of our age.
Colin Hanks seems intent on following the same path that his father took in the 1980s. His film resume includes supporting turns in two ignored high school-set comedies, the painstakingly mediocre Whatever It Takes and the surprisingly charming Get Over It.
For his first starring role, Hanks stars in yet another teen angst-ridden farce, Orange County. Ironically, at the helm of this messy MTV production is another Hollywood hopeful trying to escape the shadow of a famous father, Jake Kasdan. The son of director Lawrence Kasdan, of The Big Chill and Silverado fame, Jake Kasdan's previous directorial effort was the little-seen black comedy Zero Effect with Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman.
Hanks spends much of his time in Orange County tearing out his hair as a high school grad who throws down his surfboard to pursue his newfound dream of becoming a writer. All seems lost when Hanks fails to get into Stanford University, where he wants to study under an author whose writing inspires him to pick up pen and paper.
MTV continues to blitz its audience with promos for Orange County, but it's unlikely that the film's few genuinely funny scenes will be enough to help MTV score another hit on the scale of last January's extremely earnest Save the Last Dance ($91 million). Nor does it help that the likes of John Lithgow, Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin, Catherine O'Hara and Garry Marshall are shamelessly squandered.
Hanks, whose stock rose after appearing in HBO's critically acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers, is not the reason why Orange County should enjoy a modest opening of at least $10 million. The film's not-so secret weapon is Jack Black, whose Shallow Hal recently earned $68.8 million. Orange County will prove an interesting test of Black's newfound popularity. The ads place much prominence on Black, but he does not emerge as much of a comic presence until midway through Orange County, when Hanks and brother Black hit the road and head to Stanford University.
This week's sole new wide release, Orange County won't pose much of a threat to reigning champion The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. With $211.3 million through Wednesday, director Peter Jackson's fantasy epic is likely surpass Rush Hour 2's $226.1 million this weekend, to become New Line's biggest grossing film domestically. That alone justifies New Line giving Jackson $270 million and two years to film J.R.R. Tolkien's literary trilogy. This first chapter looks set to equal New Line's expenditure by its lonesome, and should cross $300 million with the assistance of a few Golden Globe wins and its likely Oscar nods.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring also will likely enjoy its last week at the top of the box office. Black Hawk Down, director Ridley Scott's bloody account of the U.S. soldiers under fire in Somalia in 1993, will go wide Jan. 18 after earning $558,812 in two weekends at a mere four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.
A Beautiful Mind hardly went to waste as the Russell Crowe drama capitalized on great reviews and a terrific $18.6 million in limited release during the holidays. The Ron Howard-directed biography of mentally ill mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. earned $16.5 million last weekend after expanding from 525 theaters to 1,853 theaters, and has $41.8 million through Wednesday. With little competition this weekend, A Beautiful Mind should reap another $13 million, laying down the foundations for a long and healthy run through the end of the Oscar season.
The same goes for The Royal Tenenbaums. Director Wes Anderson's dysfunctional family comedy expanded last weekend from 291 theaters to 751 theaters, with earnings jumping from $4.9 million to $8.5 million. Anderson should relish The Royal Tenenbaums's $22.9 million total through Wednesday, considering his last film, Rushmore, stalled at $17 million in 1998 despite excellent reviews.
Ali, though, looks less and less like an Oscar heavyweight with each passing day. The Muhammad Ali biography is proving no match for rivals A Beautiful Mind and The Royal Tenenbaums following its record $10.2 million Christmas Day opening. Its total through Wednesday is $50.8 million, with only the prospect of a potential Oscar nomination for Will Smith and the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend rush likely to push Ali to more than $70 million.
The first wide release of 2002 also ranks as the year's first flop. The oft-delayed Impostor, a sci-fi thriller based on a Phillip K. Dick novel, failed to crack the top 10 last weekend after taking a weak $3 million at 1,616 theaters.
Impostor's failure does not come as a surprise. Dimension originally scheduled the alien terrorist-themed Impostor for August 2000 before putting it on the shelf for almost 18 months. Still, Impostor's fate should seem all the more hurtful for director Gary Fleder, who expanded Impostor from a 30-minute segment of The Light Years Trilogy into a full-length feature at Dimension's request.
A handful of holiday holdovers continue to capture the nation's attention.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--now Warner Bros. biggest grosser in the United State--became the first film since 1999's Star Wars: Episode 1-The Phantom Menace to make more than $300 million domestically. Harry Potter, with $301.3 million through Wednesday, now ranks as the 10th top-grossing film in the United States.
The apprentice wizard still has enough magic at his disposal to fly past The Lion King ($312.9 million), Return of the Jedi ($309.1 million) and Independence Day ($306.2 million) to capture the No. 7 spot. This should please director Chris Columbus, who recently saw Harry Potter supplant Home Alone ($285.8 million) as his top grosser.
Las Vegas remains under the control of Ocean's Eleven. The star-studded crime caper has $153.5 million through Tuesday. This could mark the first film from star George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh to steal off with $200 million.
The jump from Nickelodeon to movie theaters paid off for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The animated adventure soared past $63 million on Tuesday, with the smart pre-teen destined to make more than the last Nickelodeon spin-off, 2000's Rugrats in Paris ($76.5 million).
Despite its critical drubbing, Vanilla Sky resists falling too hard, too fast. Tom Cruise's star power can only explain why this bewildering remake of Open Your Eyes has $82.9 million through Wednesday. Still, after last weekend's modest $7.1 million haul, Vanilla Sky might not have the pull to become Cruise's ninth film to make more than $100 million.
Kate &amp; Leopold looks set this weekend to become Meg Ryan's biggest hit since You've Got Mail posted $115.8 million in 1998. Not that this is much to crow about. The hackneyed time-traveling romance, co-starring Hugh Jackman, has a lowly $32 million through Wednesday. Ryan's 2000 releases, Hanging Up ($36 million) and Proof of Life ($32.5 million), did not do much to enhance her stature at the box office. Still, Kate &amp; Leopold could woo at least $45 million from undemanding couples.
A handful of films in limited release are keeping art-houses busy.
A thinking man's Death Wish, In the Bedroom has amassed $4.2 million. Robert Altman's murder mystery Gosford Park, featuring the likes of Maggie Smith and Emily Watson, has $2.1 million. Gosford Park will expand to 500 theaters after earning a promising $1.2 million last weekend in 131 theaters.
Miramax tentatively tests the water this weekend as it expands Lasse Hallstrom's The Shipping News from 213 to 300 theaters. Miramax used the same platform release strategy with Hallstrom's previous Oscar-nominated literary adaptations The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, but audiences have yet to embrace The Shipping News with the same enthusiasm. So far, The Shipping News has earned a so-so $4.2 million.
The Cider House Rules and Chocolat earned a combined 12 Oscar nominations, with The Cider House Rules notching two wins, for Miramax. But Miramax is better off throwing its marketing muscle behind In the Bedroom and Amelie ($17.6 million) in this year's Oscar race.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Annie Proulx, the dreary The Shipping News seems as cold and uninviting as the Newfoundland town that cuckolded sad-sack Kevin Spacey flees to with his daughter and aunt (Judi Dench). Nothing much seems to happen for a tale that unbelievably throws fatal car wrecks, bodies lost at sea, pirates and incest together in one heaping of small-town hooey.
So don't expect The Shipping News to do for seal-flipper pie as Sleepless in Seattle did for tiramisu.

With plans to record a fundraising song titled "What More Can I Give?" Michael Jackson has lined up support from today's hottest acts to aid survivors and families of victims of the recent terrorist attacks the United States suffered earlier this month.
The question is: Could Jackson recreate the success of his 1985 tribute tune "We Are the World"? Our answer: Definitely.
With support from Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync and Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, Jackson is currently recording "What More Can I Give?" with the goal of raising $50 million for relief efforts, Jackson's spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, told ABCNews.com on Monday.
According to SonicNet.com, a Spanish-language version of the song is also in the works.
On Thursday, however, a spokeswoman for Jive Records told Hollywood.com that neither Spears nor Timberlake had confirmed their involvement in the upcoming Michael Jackson project.
"I believe in my heart that the music community will come together as one and rally to the aid of thousands of innocent victims," Jackson said on a press release. "There is a tremendous need for relief dollars right now and through this effort, each one of us can play an immediate role in helping comfort so many people."
Who would know better than to come up with a project like this than Jackson, who in 1985 co-wrote the tune "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie, a song that would raise $65 million for USA for Africa, a fund that helps victims of starvation in Africa.
The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 on March 23, 1985 at No. 21 and won a Grammy for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
While some may think that Jackson's effort to record a new song is only intended to increase interest in his comeback efforts, the King of Pop has always been involved in charitable organizations.
In October 1998, tenor Luciano Pavarotti and Jackson's close friend Elizabeth Taylor joined the superstar in a series of concerts Jackson organized and headlined to benefit the World Peace Foundation for Children (WPFC), in hopes of providing aid to needy children and families around the world.
In Jackson's opinion, music is capable of touching people's souls, and it's "time we use that power to help us begin the process of healing immediately," he told ABCNews.com.
Jackson is not alone. Other musicians are doing their part to pay tribute to the victims by donating to different relief funds.
Music producer Phil Ramone and television producer Merv Griffin assembled several of the artists in Los Angeles to attend a fund raising event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sept. 16.
Stacey Wolf, publicist for actor Kevin Spacey, said that the event benefited the American Red Cross and featured a performance of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" sung by Spacey.
Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, are some of the confirmed participants at the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon being put together by the CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC networks. The event will be broadcast live from Los Angeles and New York Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern and Central. The show will be tape-delayed in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
Singer Whitney Houston is taking a similar approach by planning to re-release her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which she originally performed before the Super Bowl XXV in 1991, when the nation had ended the Persian Gulf War. Houston's label, Arista Records, told SonicNet the singer will split the proceeds between the New York Firefighters Disaster Relief Fun and the New York Fraternal Order of Police Fund.
Janet Jackson, James Taylor and R&amp;B singer Maxwell have joined the band Earth, Wind &amp; Fire, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Backstreet Boys, and Sade with $10,000 each in donations to the ClearChannel.com Relief Fund.
Rebecca Allmon, director of public relations for Clear Channel World Wide, told Hollywood.com on Friday that the fund has raised $5.4 million through artist contributions, patron donations, and individuals around the country who can donate money over the phone or online through Clear Channel's official Web site.
"We are so overwhelmed with the generosity of Americans everywhere who are financially participating to express their outrage," Allmon said. "We are deeply fortunate to be in a position to make that happen."
Proceeds from the Clear Channel Relief Fund will benefit organizations including the New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania police, firefighters and emergency workers, the U.S. Military and National Guard personnel, and the national and local chapters of The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
By having access to media resources, such as radio stations and public service campaigns, Allmon said, billboards have been created across the nation with messages that read, "In God We Trust. United We Stand."
On Sept. 14 in Birmingham, Ala., Governor Don Siegelman, spoke and led an audience of 7,000 for a candle light vigil, where civil and religious entities had an opportunity to express their feelings on the tragedy, Allmon said.
Britney Spears, along with boyfriend Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync, have created The Giving Back Fund, a charity foundation to aid the families of victims of the attacks, Launch.com reports. The fund is gathering entertainers and athletes for a special event in the near future that will benefit victims.
Spears also plans to give $1 from each ticket sold for her upcoming fall tour, and hopes plans to raise $2 million in merchandise sales and by auctioning front-row seats at her shows, The Associated Press reported.
Janes Addiction's guitarist Dave Navarro had mobile units for blood for his Sept. 12 show in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Charlotte, N.C. show on Sept. 15. "Dave didn't feel comfortable with playing shows without doing something about it," Navarro's publicist, Bobbi Gale, told Hollywood.com on Friday.
Rock band Incubus donated the proceeds from their Sept. 15 and 16 shows in New York to relief efforts. Godsmack also donated their proceeds from the sale of their merchandise to the New York City Public and Private Initiative, a fund benefiting the families of police officers and firefighters.
After canceling her show on Sept. 11, the day of the attack, Madonna led a prayer for peace at her Staples Center performance in Los Angeles on Sept. 14. Other artists such as Aerosmith, Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson and Cake have canceled shows in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Story…story…oh yeah the...story? Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are a couple of New Jersey stoners who find out Miramax is making a movie based on the comic book featuring their pseudo-selves Bluntman and Chronic. They might be cool with that except they aren't getting any of the profits so the two head cross-country to Hollywood with hazy plans to put a stop to the production. As they hitchhike their way across America they hook up with among others George Carlin; a nun who'd rather not participate in oral sex with hitchhikers thanks; Shaggy and the gang in the Scooby-Doo van; and a catsuited gang of sexy jewel thieves posing as animal rights activists Sissy (Eliza Dushku) Chrissy (Ali Larter) Missy (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith--the director's wife) and Justice (Shannon Elizabeth).
Acting…acting…oh yeah the…acting? Writer/director and Silent Bob character Kevin Smith has said he's retiring both Jay and Silent Bob and moviegoers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief for never let's hope ever having to be subjected to loudmouth Jason Mewes again. Although they've turned up in the background of all of Kevin Smith's films this is the first to feature Jay and friends in the lead and Strike Back demonstrates a little goes a long way. For what may be the first time Elizabeth comes off endearing and sympathetic as the kindhearted Justice Jay's innocent glasses-wearing love interest who gets walked on by her three heist-happy friends. Dushku pulls off the same tough-as-nails-chick role you've seen her do on Buffy the Vampire Slayer--not a stretch but fun nonetheless. Best cameo bits? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's delicious riff on Good Will Hunting; also watch for Chris Rock's show-stealing appearance near the end.
Has Kevin Smith eccentric filmmaker extraordinaire FOM&amp;B (Friend of Matt &amp; Ben) gotten---gasp---stale? His Clerks was refreshingly funny and his Chasing Amy hilariously insightful. Strike Back unfortunately is nothing but clumsy filmmaking mugging at the camera and hammy-to-the-point-of-embarassment cameos (uh Will Ferrell...George Carlin...) not to mention a never ending and tiresome string of dick jokes and toilet humor. Couldn't Smith who trots out an ensemble cast other indie filmmakers couldn't even dream of think of anything better for them to do than let them chew the scenery in skit after lame skit? Although there are bits of distinct comic genius in this film they are few and far between and bits of distinct comic genius in this film most of it the movie is too self-referential (and foul) to appeal to a mainstream audience. If you've always loved Kevin Smith's films you won't be disappointed but you'll probably feel left out if you're not already in on the joke.

That green-eyed monster called jealousy rears its ugly head this Labor Day weekend, but whether it scares off the competition hinges upon the very controversy that kept it under lock and key for two years.
Tim Blake Nelson's "O" became an indirect victim of the recent rash of high school-related killings, with a wary Miramax constantly delaying its release following one shooting incident after another. Nelson took legal action, and Miramax eventually handed the teen drama over to Lions Gate. The reason: Nelson all too faithfully re-stages Shakespeare's Othello in a high school, with the deceit and treacherous unfolding on and off the basketball court with bloody consequences.
Though driven by a hip-hop soundtrack, and sporting a cast that includes teen heartthrobs Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett, Nelson's "O" is a serious-minded and uncompromising adaptation of one of the Bard's greatest plays. Anyone who has read or seen the play knows that it ends tragically. As does "O", but not in a way that would summon up the terrible events at such schools as Columbine. Still, its climax proves the film's undoing, because what worked in a Renaissance-era Venice does not seem applicable to a 21st-centruy South Carolinian high school.
Lions Gate is clearly hoping lightning will strike twice. It scored a $30.6 million hit in Dogma after obtaining Kevin Smith's satirical religious epic from Miramax.
Hartnett, surprisingly convincing as a modern-day Iago, is hot after Pearl Harbor. Stiles is already a Shakespearean poster girl for starring in The Taming of the Shrew-inspired 10 Things I Hate About You and the New York-set Hamlet. She also is once again playing the race card. Her MTV-ish interracial romance Save the Last Dance boogied its way to a $91 million in January. Despite the presence of both, "O" may have trouble so much as matching Save the Last Dance's $23.4 million opening during its entire run.
Compounding "O"'s problems: a Labor Day weekend opening, a holiday notorious pathetically weak turnouts for new films; strong opposition in the form of lighthearted teen holdovers American Pie 2 and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; and the arrival of the Francis Ford Coppola-executive produced horror yarn Jeepers Creepers.
Jeepers Creepers may have the edge over "O" by virtue that it will play in 2,900-plus theaters. "O" will go out in about 1,400-plus theaters.
Not that Jeepers Creepers is going to have an easy time this weekend. The best Labor Day weekend opening came in 1996, when The Crow: City of Angels experienced a less-than-soaring $8.3 million over the four-day weekend.
Jeepers Creepers also faces a formidable foe in the The Others, whose Sixth Sense-like surprises has propelled the Nicole Kidman chiller to $48.8 million through Wednesday. Still, Jeepers Creepers should have the edge over John Carpenter's horror/sci-fi hybrid Ghosts of Mars, which crashed last weekend with $3.8 million and has scared up only $4.9 million through Wednesday.
Even with weak competition in "O" and Jeepers Creepers, current box office champ American Pie 2 might not succeed in its bid to be the last year's first film to enjoy its No. 1 status for four weeks. Rush Hour 2 reclaimed the box office top spot on Tuesday and Wednesday, with its total now at $186.9 million. The difference came down to a handful of dollars, but it nevertheless indicates that audiences might prefer to see Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker bust heads this weekend than watch Jason Biggs and Chris Klein try to score.
American Pie 2, with its total at $112 million through Wednesday, now ranks as one of those rare sequels to outgross--no pun intended--its predecessor. The same goes for Rush Hour 2, which could speed past $200 million this weekend.
Disney will reissue Pearl Harbor in the hope that the critically mauled World War II romance also will cross the $200 million barrier. Its total stands at $195.5 million. Disney also will give the animated Atlantis: The Lost Empire a second shot at glory. Atlantis' total: a disappointing $81.4 million.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back looks set to become Kevin Smith's biggest hit. The Hollywood spoof has generated $14.3 million through Wednesday, or just under half of what Dogma made in 1999.
Expect prompt disappearing acts from major flops Summer Catch, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Bubble Boy.
Also, Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion isn't catching fire with anyone beyond his loyal followers. The screwball comedy opened last weekend in 902 theaters with a pitiful $2.4 million. In comparison, Small Time Crooks opened in May 2000 with $3.9 million at 865 theaters. Looks like Allen's been hit good and hard by a curse of his making.

Jay and Silent Bob look set to make some noise, noise, noise this weekend.
With more than a little help from their Tinseltown buddies, the less-than-dynamic duo will likely chew up, spit out and stomp all over that second serving of American Pie.
The competition is stiff--five new films open in wide release Friday--but the aggressively juvenile Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back should guarantee director Kevin Smith a smash ending to his View Askewniverse chronicles.
Smith's last film, 1999's controversial religious treatise Dogma, opened with $8.7 million on its way to a heavenly $30 million gross. That's more than Smith's previous low-budget comedies Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy combined.
Smith's fifth film falls somewhere between the comically gritty realism of Clerks and the aggressively juvenile antics of Mallrats.
Jay and Silent Bob cross paths with almost all of young Hollywood--plus such veterans as George Carlin and Mark Hamill--in their crusade to thwart a Miramax production based on their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic. That should attract those unfamiliar with Smith's world of convenience-store clerks, comic-book artists and loser stoners. Conversely, unfamiliar audiences also may end up confused as to why Ben Affleck plays two characters, including himself. This might prove problematic for Jay and Silent Bob's long-term prospects to entice the uninitiated to join them on their whacked-out journey to Hollywood.
Also, Smith recently fought off criticism by GLAAD that he imbued his road trip with a nasty homophobic streak. Having said that, the anti-Catholic accusations Smith faced with Dogma surely helped the otherwise difficult-to-market satire to score at the box office.
Woody Allen ventures forth with his latest screwball comedy, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Still very much an acquired taste after all these years, the archetypal New York neurotic did enjoy his biggest hits in ages last year with the DreamWorks-distributed Small Time Crooks. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is hardly vintage Allen. The aging Woodman once again fires off one snappy line after another as he woos younger women--Helen Hunt and Charlize Theron- but the Jade Scorpion certainly lacks the crackle and pop of the Cary Grant-Irene Dunne comedies that it pays tribute to.
Allen's recent period pieces-humorous or otherwise, with or without him in the lead role-usually leave audiences cold. Also, Allen's last August release, Manhattan Murder Mystery, stalled at $11.2 million in 1993. Therefore, even with DreamWorks once again serving as Allen's benefactor, Jade Scorpion is unlikely to surpass Small Time Crooks' $17 million gross.
Like Allen, John Carpenter does not pose much of a threat to Smith. Carpenter unleashes Ghosts of Mars, with Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge fending off possessed Martian mineworkers of the body-pierced variety. Ice Cube retains a strong following--augmented last year by Next Friday--which ensures Ghosts of Mars a modest though unspectacular opening.
Carpenter--once the undisputed master of horror sci-fi--desperately needs a hit. He's endured one flop after another in recent years, including In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned, Escape from L.A. and Vampires. Ghosts of Mars-- an extremely cheap, humdrum and lazy sci-fi bloodbath--is not likely to reverse that trend. Carpenter also may alienate his hardcore fans once they realize that he shamelessly relocates his classic urban Western Assault on Precinct 13 to Mars.
Hollywood studios usually let out their dogs in late August to die a quick and painless death. That fate no doubt awaits the baseball-themed Summer Catch and the family comedy Bubble Boy.
Don't expect Freddie Prinze Jr. to register so much as a base hit with Summer Catch. Teen girls lost interest in Prinze immediately after the credits started to roll on 1999's surprise hit She's All That. Prinze's like-minded romantic comedies Down to You, Boys and Girls and Head Over Heels disappeared more quickly than you can howl "Scooby Doo, where are you?" Summer Catch will likely match Head Over Heels' $10.4 million gross, but strike out long before it can reach Boys and Girls' $20.7 million gross.
Since audiences can choose between Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Rat Race should they want to see a road movie, Bubble Boy will surely burst upon impact. Jake Gyllenhall stars a young boy suffering from primary immune deficiencies--hence his travel bubble--who takes to the road to seek out true love.
The days of $40 million-openings are over, at least for now. This could be the first weekend since Swordfish opened June 8 with $18.1 million that the No. 1 film has made less than $20 million.
Reigning champ American Pie 2 should lose its crusty crown this weekend, but it looks set to become the 12th film this year to make more than $100 million. The sequel stood at $96.8 million as of Thursday, and will likely exceed its predecessor's $101.8 million gross within days.
Rush Hour 2 continues making to make a beeline toward for $200 million. The Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker buddy yarn lost 43 percent last weekend-from $33.1 million to $19 million-but it still enjoyed a bigger third weekend than its closest box office rivals Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park III and Pearl Harbor. Its total as of Thursday: $171.8 million.
Nicole Kidman emerged the victor in the catfight between the ex-Mrs. Cruise and Ms. Cruz.
Kidman's The Others enjoyed a $10.9 million second weekend--down a mere 23 percent from its opening weekend of $14 million. Its total as of Thursday: $37.5 million.
The sophisticated gothic yarn should hold its own against Ghosts of Mars, which will appeal more to those eager to see the red planet awash in blood.
Audiences displayed as much enthusiasm for Penelope Cruz romancing Nicolas Cage in Captain Corelli's Mandolin as they did for Cruz romancing Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses. Which is none at all.
The World War II drama opened with a fair but unpromising $7.2 million, failing miserably to capitalize on the very public unveiling of Cruz and her new beau, Kidman's ex-husband, Tom Cruise. Its total as of Thursday: a very disappointing $10 million.
Rat Race started off slowly, with only $11.6 million in its opening weekend and $17.3 million as of Thursday. This millennial updating of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World should crawl to a halt in the face of competition from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.
The bounty on Jesse James' head sure doesn't add up to much. American Outlaws, starring Colin Farrell, opened with a pitiful $4.8 million and has corralled a mere $7 million as of Thursday.
The Princess Diaries looks set to surpass Legally Blonde as the summer's most popular non-action sleeper hit. The fairy tale, starring Julie Andrews, has $75.7 million in its royal vault as of Thursday. The peroxided, Reese Witherspoon-courtroom spoof has filed $84.7 million as of Thursday.
So what if The Princess Diaries and Legally Blonde did not enjoy blockbuster openings?
The female-driven comedies are displaying the longevity that the likes of Jurassic Park III and Planet of the Apes simply lack. As of Thursday, the former has taken $170.2 million while the latter has scrapped up $164.2 million. Neither will cross the $200 million mark, a disappointment considering that these very expensive blockbusters opened so dynamically.
If there is a lesson to be learned, it's that aspiring princess and lawyers have longer legs than cloned dinosaurs and evolutionarily superior simians.

Yes, yes, we know Halle Berry has shown her "guns" before. That's why millions of people went to see the pretty awful film Swordfish. However, we're talking real guns this time. She's in negotiations to join Ben Affleck (if he can stay off the booze) in Gigli, directed by Martin Brest for Revolution Studios. The premise of the film--I've talked about this one before, and it's still a doozy--centers on a lowly hit man (Affleck) who kidnaps the mentally challenged brother of a prominent district attorney. Berry will play a free-spirited gunslinger (please, is there any other kind?) sent in, ostensibly, to supervise the kidnapping but ends up partnering with the guy and going on the lam with him. Of course, through the process, he falls in love with her. Let's hope, through another strange and wild process, the title is somehow explained.
Down on the "Farm"
The newest hunk-o-rama in Hollywood, Colin Farrell, is set to star with Al Pacino in The Farm, a CIA thriller about an agent trainee (Farrell) who suspects his seasoned CIA instructor (Pacino) is a double agent. Production is to begin Nov. 1. OK, first, I'll talk about the movie, which sounds pretty average considering who is in it. But, sometimes, that's a good thing. What I really want to talk about is Irish-born Farrell. He made a big splash last year in the indie Tigerland and has been steadily rising in the ranks ever since. His most recent movie American Outlaws, where he plays outlaw Jesse James, opens in theaters this week, and he just finished wrapping Minority Report opposite Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg. For Farm, Farrell will receive a whooping $5 million, nearly double his usual asking price. And did I mention that he was damn cute? I did? OK, just checking.
Bound by "Rules
It's the gang from the WB, together once again. Well, at least parts of them. Jessica Biel (WB's 7th Heaven and the upcoming film Summer Catch) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) will join Kip Pardue (Driven), Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie 2) and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale) in the Lions Gate film The Rules of Attraction. The story, based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero), is set at the height of Reagan's 1980s in a small, affluent, liberal arts college in New England. It follows three students as they sort out a romantic triangle and other such travails of--and this is Variety's description--the "self-consciously postmodern undergrad." Ah. This sounds suspiciously like another movie about three college students who have to sort out romantic problems. Anyone remember the 1994 Threesome with Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles? Which was actually a pretty good movie. Well, Rules certainly sounds like it should be on the WB. And maybe not on the big screen. But, alas, I'm not the one running the show out there.
Jolie on "Border" patrol
If anyone is truly interested, the film Beyond Borders has had a long history of being on-again, off-again at Mandalay Pictures. Now it's on-again, with Angelina Jolie attached to star and Martin Campbell (Vertical Limit) to direct. It's a love story that takes place during the course of many years and set against the backdrop of humanitarian efforts worldwide. OK, so we don't know too much about the script so far, but I'm sure we will at some point. Here's the history lesson: In 1999, Kevin Costner and Catherine Zeta-Jones were attached to star, with Oliver Stone directing. But the actors had to drop out after awhile to do other stuff. Costner came back in the picture in the spring of 2000, with Meg Ryan as a possible costar. But Jolie wanted it and signed. Still, things were not moving very fast. Costner left for good in fall 2000 to be replaced by Ralph Fiennes. Then production halted at the beginning of the year, so Stone and Fiennes said so long. Jolie went on to do another project but said she was still interested if and when the film came to fruition. And here we are! Welcome to the wacky world of filmmaking.
Yo "Mama"!
Miramax has snagged the project My Baby's Mama after an intense bidding war last week. Bidding wars still happen? Remember that much talked about industry practice, where a script is sent to major studios on a Friday, with a lot of hype attached to it, and is frantically bid upon over the weekend by execs who just have to have it . Honestly, I thought that was a late '80s, '90s thing when the Joe Eszterhas' of the writing world ran things and demanded top dollar. Well, I guess I was wrong. Comedian Eddie Griffin's (Double Take) script, a cross between Three Men and a Baby and Soul Food, was bought by Miramax for Griffin to star along with John Leguizamo, LL Cool J and Lil' Kim. Apparently Miramax always had the upper hand in getting the project because of its alliances with several of the factions involved. But I wonder how much they paid for a script that seems less than spectacular.
Just call him "Sloppy Seconds" Frankenheimer
To be fair, the acclaimed director John Frankenheimer has made some action-packed and fascinating films in his career. Films such as the 1962 The Manchurian Candidate, 1966's Seconds and the 1977 Black Sunday. But lately he's been slipping, especially with last year's dismal Reindeer Games. And now he is set to direct the prequel to The Exorcist. What? We find out how the devil gets into little Reagan's attic? No, the story apparently revolves around what happened to Father Merrin during his missionary work in post-World War II Africa, where he first encounters the Big Red Horned One. One will remember Max Von Sydow's account in the original Exorcist, with brief flashbacks showing some poor African being possessed. Honestly, do we care? The most noteworthy part of this deal, however, is that Frankenheimer is once again following the footsteps of director William Friedkin. Most won't remember but Frankenheimer directed The French Connection II, a sequel to the original classic directed by Friedkin. Maybe those powers that be approached Friedkin about doing these sequels and he said, "Naw, I don't want to do it. But ask John. He'll go for it."

Director Kevin Smith is known for his often explicit and political incorrectness films such as Clerks and Dogma. He knows his films often cross the line, but that's exactly his point in making them. He makes no apologies as his counterparts Jay and Silent Bob spew obscenities about religion, sexual orientation, women and the intricate details about smoking pot. It's the generation he is satirizing and their complete ignorance.
However, this time, Smith may have gone too far and now has to contend with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The organization has sternly criticized Smith's latest film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
"GLAAD views this film as being dangerous to the homosexual community," GLAAD entertainment media director Scott Seomin told The Hollywood Reporter. "Our concern is that this movie's target audience is young males, and it is so obviously homophobic."
The criticism has aggravated Smith to no end. He has posted a lengthy explanation on his official Web site and proudly points to his gay-themed film Chasing Amy and insists his new film makes fun of the young male culture who are "terrified of any cock that isn't their own."
Smith told Entertainment Weekly, "Am I going to lead the unenlightened to the Promised Land, and have male [audience members] running around sucking d---? No. But [maybe] a few will walk around more comfortable... I can't be held responsible for how stupid some people are."
Seomin's response is that "we feel it's important to voice our concerns both privately with Kevin and publicly through the media so that these issues can be discussed. This is not about Kevin Smith, who we know is not homophobic. It's about the movie he has made."
Smith agreed to meet with Seomin this week. During the meeting, Seomin suggested that to make amends, Smith make a donation to the Matthew Sheperd Foundation, whose mission is to educate the public on the dangers of homophobia. Smith readily agreed and wrote a check for $10,000 on the spot.
Yet, Smith wanted to emphasize that this donation was not a way of apologizing for the film but as an attempt to help out a worthy cause.
"What really burns me about all this, though, is that now my donation to the Matthew Sheperd Foundation is going to be sullied in the process... It is now being portrayed as an admission of some sort of culpability; that by giving $10,000 to this worthy cause, I'm essentially saying, 'I'm sorry I made some gay jokes,'" Smith wrote on his Web site. "I'm not sorry--because I didn't make jokes at the expense of the gay community."
GLAAD also has asked Dimension Films, which is releasing the film to make a contribution, but it has declined.
"We have, for years, been huge supporters of GLAAD and continue to support them, but we don't feel like this movie is homophobic in any way," Dimension senior VP publicity Elizabeth Clark told The Hollywood Reporter. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we stand behind this movie and are not going to apologize for it."
Smith has been attacked once before for one of his films--the 1999 Dogma--from conservative Catholic groups who staged protests outside theaters and urged people to boycott the film.
"I caught it from the right wing on Dogma, and now I'm catching it from the left wing on this flick," Smith continued on his Web site. "Which am I, people: a bleeding-heart liberal or a Bible-thumping conservative? And when the hell do I get to make a movie in which I don't have to explain myself afterwards?"

Among the major U.S. newspapers, only the Los Angeles Times gives Pearl Harbor a snappy salute. Curiously, the Times' review is not written by lead critic Kenneth Turan but by the newspaper's veteran movie writer, Kevin Thomas, whose taste in films generally runs to independent and foreign-produced fare, not big blockbusters. Thomas calls the film "a superb reenactment" of the events of Dec. 7, 1941 that also provides "an engaging love story" and reels off at "a brisk pace that makes this three-hour war epic seem like half that time." The filmmakers, he concludes, "have given us a Pearl Harbor to remember." Compare those words with these of Glenn Whipp, film critic for the cross-town Los Angeles Daily News: Director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have created a movie, he writes, "that is so clichéd and boring that even the WB television network would reject it out of hand for being too insipid." Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post argues that the movie seems to work when it attempts to evoke old World War II war flicks, but by the end, he concludes, "it becomes the wrong kind of same old story: Hollywood stupidity and callowness, writ large across the sky." In the very first sentence of his review, Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal describes the film as "a blockheaded, hollow-hearted industrial enterprise," and in his last sentence calls it "a movie without a soul." Several critics praise the scenes of the attack on the U.S. fleet, but Jami Bernard in the New York Times is among the many who conclude, in her words: "An intense half-hour of cool, wall-to-wall combat sequences is sandwiched between hours of a predictable, sappy romantic triangle that is hardly worthy of the epic treatment it receives." Or as Lou Lumenick puts it in the New York Post: "The 40-minute attack sequence in Pearl Harbor is as spectacular as you could imagine -- but come prepared to suffer through hours of soggy, corny, predictable and interminable romantic drama." But even the spectacle of the recreated raid troubles Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, who asks: "What is the point, really, of more than half an hour of planes bombing ships, of explosions and fireballs, of roars on the soundtrack and bodies flying through the air and people running away from fighters that are strafing them? How can it be entertaining or moving when it's simply about the most appalling slaughter? Why do the filmmakers think we want to see this, unrelieved by intelligence, viewpoint or insight?"

Grammy Award-winning artist Eminem was sentenced to two years' probation Tuesday for carrying a concealed weapon.
The rapper had entered a guilty plea with prosecutors in February after he pistol-whipped a man he saw kissing his wife, Kimberly, outside a Detroit-area nightclub called Hot Rocks in June.
Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said earlier that he would seek no more than six months because Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, "has no record and there was no serious injury," The Associated Press reported.
Circuit Judge Antonio Viviano also fined Eminem $2,500 and ordered him to undergo counseling and submit to drug testing. The rapper also must ask the court for permission to travel overseas.
Eminem already has reached a preliminary divorce agreement with his wife that gives him joint custody of their 5-year-old daughter.
On the advice of his attorneys, Eminem made no statement in court. He stood silent between his attorneys in a dark suit and tie.
The rapper's mother, Debbie Mathers-Briggs, was at court Tuesday to see her son's sentencing.
"It was just basically to make sure he was OK," she told Reuters. "I didn't want my son to get jail time. You may have differences, but you never stop loving a child," she told Reuters.
Eminem said after his sentence that he was looking forward to putting the case behind him.
"The judge treated me fair, like any other human being," he said, AP reported. "I just want to get it behind me and get back to spending time with my little girl and making music."
Springsteen shows who the "Boss" is
New Jersey rock star Bruce Springsteen won his legal battle Tuesday to block Masquerade Music Ltd. from releasing 19 songs he recorded before he became famous.
The London Court of Appeal dismissed Masquerade's challenge of a December 1998 decision preventing the release of an unauthorized album featuring Springsteen's early work. The London-based Masquerade had imported about 75 copies of the album, Before the Fame, and had "threatened to release many further copies," said High Court Justice Francis Ferris, according to the BBC News.
The songs were recorded in the early 1970s, several years before Springsteen's hit "Born to Run." The album would feature the "Boss" accompanying himself with guitar and piano, material that was never meant for release.
Springsteen felt that Masquerade's attempt to claim ownership of the songs' copyright was an attack on his artistic integrity
"The music you release is the way you shape your career, and I have always believed you have to do all you can do to protect your work," Springsteen told Reuters.
The singer received an award of $725,000 in legal costs and the cost of the appeal, still to be determined.
Strike Waivers OK'd by SAG president
Strike waivers for individual filmmakers have received the approval of Screen Actors Guild president William Daniels. He will support granting the waivers if the qualifiers accept the guild's labor demands during a work hiatus, but he stressed the ultimate decision will be made by SAG's negotiating committee.
"I want to keep actors working," Daniels said Monday following a news conference about the announcement of legislative hearings on agent issues.
Some more stringent guild members believe this move may take away leveraging power at the negotiation table, while others see it as a tactic to bring out the benefits of the guild contract.
SAG has received hundred of requests from filmmakers seeking waivers in the last few months. The SAG contract is due to expire June 30. Negotiation talks have not yet been set.
Castro attends "Thirteen Days" screening
Producers of Thirteen Days, including star Kevin Costner, Peter Almond and Armyan Bernstein, spent many hours Monday viewing the film and discussing its historical significance with Cuban president Fidel Castro -seven hours, to be exact, lasting until 2 a.m. The actor was very appreciative of the president's time and that Castro responded very favorably to the film, Costner's spokesman Stephen Rivers told Reuters.
The film's ending has Moscow agreeing to withdraw the missiles from Cuba to the annoyance of Castro, who resented the deal being cut over his head. The U.S. delegation explained to Castro before the screening that the film represented "one perspective on the crisis from one side" and encouraged the Cubans to make their own version.
Not surprisingly, the Cuban news agency, the Presna Latina, felt the film displayed a superficial vision, typical of Hollywood.
"The North Americans are presented yet again as the saviors of the world, while Cuba appears in the film, according to some critics, as mere decoration in a sugary film of pure Hollywood style," the agency said. "With more dialogue than action, the film tends to send the spectator to sleep," it added. The film is set to be screened Wednesday in Moscow for Russian dignitaries and former U.S. cabinet members who were involved in the Missile Crisis, including former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Napster continues to filter music files
Napster filed a third compliance report on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, saying it has blocked more than 1.7 million files from its service, substantially improving its filtering technology.
The online song-swap service reported that its has reduced in half the average number of music files shared by users.
Napster has spent $750,000 for six-month's worth of access to the song database of the Internet music company Gracenote and hired 15 staffers to increase its efforts.
In March, Napster disputed claims filed by the Recording Industry Association, which blamed the Web site of inadequate filtering efforts.
In opposition, Napster said the RIAA's complaint dealt with parameters of injunction and not the file sharer's effort to comply with it.
Both companies will have a chance to reconcile their differences on Tuesday at a hearing before District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to discuss compliance issues.
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Andrew Morton to write unauthorized Madonna biography
Andrew Morton, the author of such celebrity biographies as Princess Diana and Monica Lewinsky, has a new subject: pop star Madonna.
St. Martin's Press purchased the North American rights to Morton's unauthorized Madonna biography, in which he will "disclose the unknown Madonna," St. Martin's president and publisher, Sally Richardson, said Tuesday in a statement.
"Andrew loves complicated women and has a genius for getting into their psyche and telling the world what makes them tick," Richardson added.
A 500,000-copy first printing is planned. The book is scheduled for release in November.
Morton wrote 1992's Diana: Her True Story and 1999's Monica's Story, both New York Times No. 1 bestsellers.
Queen tune makes a comeback
British pop singer Robbie Williams will work with Queen to record a new version of the rock band's 1977 hit "We Are the Champions." The song will be included on the soundtrack for A Knight's Tale, the upcoming film starring Aussie hunk Heath Ledger, according to Reuters.
A spokesman for Williams emphasized that this was a onetime collaboration.
"There are no plans to release it as a single here or in the U.S. It's for a film, so it will just be part of a soundtrack," he said.
Williams recorded the track with Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon from Queen, which originally sold more than 100 million records. Lead singer Freddie Mercury died in 1991 of AIDS.
"Captain Corelli" to receive London premiere
The highly anticipated love story Captain Corelli's Mandolin will receive its world premiere in London on Thursday, April 19, according to Reuters.
The film, starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz, is based on the bestseller by British novelist Louis de Bernieres. It details a love affair between an Italian officer, Corelli, and a local girl on the Greek island of Cephallonia during World War II. This leads up to the events of September 1943, when, after the Italians declared an armistice with Allies, the Italian soldiers left on the island refuse to surrender to the Germans and fought in vain for 10 days.
The premiere will benefit the British Red Cross.
Paul McCartney's daughter getting into the act
Fashion designer Stella McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney, wants Beatles documentary filmmaker Geoff Wonfer to film her as she sets up her own fashion label, according to Reuters. Wonfer produced The Beatles Anthology and has made films about McCartney's late photographer mother, Linda.
The documentary would chronicle McCartney's departure from the French fashion label Chloe to create her own Gucci-backed designer label.
Several television stations are bidding for the rights to air the documentary.
"Ab Fab" is back
The British cult hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous will return to television after a five-year absence, with the original cast in place, according to USA Today. The BBC and Comedy Central will produce six new episodes to air in November.
Known affectionately among fans as Ab Fab, the sitcom follows the misadventures of two boozy, sex-starved, fashion-crazed friends played by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.
Rosie goes home after stint in hospital
Talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell was sent home from a New York hospital Monday afternoon, after she was admitted for a staph infection in her hand, according to USA Today. She will not return to her show this week as she is still recovering and on antibiotics.
O'Donnell went to the emergency room on April 3 complaining of excruciating pain in her hand after she had surgery to repair a tendon from a fishing accident last year. Barbara Walters and other members of the show The View are filling in this week for O'Donnell. She will return to her duties behind the desk on Monday.
Actor and activist Graf dies
David Graf, a character actor who starred in all seven Police Academy films, died Saturday of a heart attack in Arizona. He was 50.
Best known for his role as Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series, and for his recurring role as Col. Chase on NBC's hit drama The West Wing, Graf also was very active with the Screen Actors Guild. He served on the national board as a Hollywood representative, the TV-theatrical steering committee, the new technologies caucus and the national disciplinary review committee.
"His kindness, generosity of spirit and ability to tirelessly work for the better of actors will be missed," SAG President William Daniels told Variety.
His other credits includeRules of Engagement, Citizen Ruth and Guarding Tess.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy, and two children.